Tornadoes · United States · Missouri · 2017

EF2 tornado, Goodman to Erie, Missouri, April 4, 2017

From Goodman to Erie, this EF2 tornado ran 16.5 miles across McDonald and Newton counties on April 4, 2017, touching down at 6:48 PM CDT and reaching 300 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $1.1 million of property damage.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Enhanced Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. EF065 to 85 mph

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. EF186 to 110 mph

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. EF2111 to 135 mphthis tornado

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. EF3136 to 165 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. EF4166 to 200 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. EF5over 200 mph

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

The record

Rating
EF2
Date
April 4, 2017
Touchdown
6:48 PM CDT (23:48 UTC)
Lifted
7:05 PM CDT (00:05 UTC)
On the ground
17 minutes
Path length
16.5 miles (26.5 km)
Path width
300 yards (274 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$1.1 million
Counties
McDonald and Newton counties
Touchdown point
36.720, -94.432
Lift-off point
36.912, -94.265
Record number
1704041748-01

The damage survey

1 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS SGF, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The highest wind the damage implies is 90 mph.

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

What the Weather Service recorded

A strong storm system and cold front produced supercells across the Missouri Ozark with damaging winds and large hail. The were a couple damaging tornadoes.

An EF-2 tornado hit the town of Goodman in McDonald County and continued northeastward into southern Newton County southeast of Neosho. Numerous homes and buildings were damaged. The school in Goodman was destroyed. The tornado started southwest of Goodman and ended on the southwest side of Granby.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

The warnings

5 minutes of warning. NWS SGF issued a tornado warning for this county at 23:43 UTC, 5 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 00:30 UTC.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 19:37 UTC and running to 02:45 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
19:37 UTC02:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchSGF
23:04 UTC00:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningSGF
23:43 UTC00:30 UTCTornado WarningSGF
00:16 UTC00:46 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningSGF

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The forecast that day

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Enhanced Risk, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 20:00 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

The air that afternoon

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

Springfield, MO (KSGF), 12:00Z

11.8 hours before the tornado, 50 km from the path. April 4, 2017.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 2017-04-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -75894, lifted condensation level 1056 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 2017-04-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 45 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 40 knots.1939587897117Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-75894 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1056 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
40 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
45 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
40 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
3.9 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Springfield, MO (KSGF), 00:00Z

0.2 hours after it, 50 km from the path. April 5, 2017.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Springfield, MO at 00:00Z on 2017-04-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 326 joules per kilogram, CIN -51, lifted condensation level 1384 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Springfield, MO at 00:00Z on 2017-04-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 312 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 58 knots.1939587897Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
326 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-51 J/kg
Surface CAPE
793 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1384 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
58 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
312 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
743 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.0
Supercell composite
12.5
0-3 km lapse rate
6.8 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Springfield radar (KSGF), 96 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:45 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

What was reported nearby

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

Time (UTC)ReportWhereCountyRemark
23:44 UTCTSTM WND GST 505 Nw AndersonMcdonald, MO
23:45 UTCHAIL 1.25NeoshoNewton, MO
23:48 UTCTORNADOGoodmanMcdonald, MOPRELIMINARY STORM SURVEY REVEALED EF-2 DAMAGE IN GOODMAN. DAMAGE TO THE SCHOOL WAS MOST SIGNIFICANT. SURVEY IS STILL ONGOING. CORRECTED FOR TIME.
23:49 UTCTSTM WND GST 80GoodmanMcdonald, MO60-80 MPH WIND GUST WITH POWER FLASHES.
23:50 UTCHAIL 14 Wnw NeoshoNewton, MOPUBLIC REPORTED QUARTER SIZED HAIL AT I49 AND HWY 86 NEOSHO VIA SOCIAL MEDIA.
23:53 UTCTSTM WND GST 70AndersonMcdonald, MOFUNNEL CLOUD.
23:55 UTCTSTM WND DMGGoodmanMcdonald, MOTREES UPROOTED AND POWER LINES DOWN.
23:55 UTCTORNADOGoodmanMcdonald, MOBUILDINGS DAMAGED.
23:55 UTCTORNADOGoodmanMcdonald, MOPRELIMINARY STORM SURVEY REVEALED EF-2 DAMAGE IN GOODMAN. DAMAGE TO THE SCHOOL WAS MOST SIGNIFICANT. SURVEY IS STILL ONGOING.
23:57 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 S NeoshoNewton, MOLIGHT TREE DAMAGE ON SOUTH SIDE OF NEOSHO.
00:07 UTCFUNNEL CLOUD10 W MonettNewton, MOTRAINED SPOTTER REPORTED A FUNNEL CLOUD 10 MILES WEST OF MONETT.
00:07 UTCFUNNEL CLOUD4 Ese RitcheyNewton, MOTRAINED SPOTTER REPORTED A FUNNEL CLOUD 10 MILES WEST OF MONETT.
00:15 UTCTSTM WND DMGGranbyNewton, MOTREES DOWN AND SIDING AND HALF A ROOF BLOWN OFF A HOUSE OUTSIDE OF GRANBY ON METTLE DRIVE.
00:20 UTCTSTM WND GST 582 Se GranbyNewton, MOMESONET STATION E7471, 2 SE GRANBY.
00:30 UTCTSTM WND DMG4 Wsw Stotts CityLawrence, MODAMAGE TO BARN.
00:45 UTCHAIL 0.88Mount VernonLawrence, MO
00:45 UTCHAIL 1.751 N Mount VernonLawrence, MO
00:49 UTCHAIL 1PurdyBarry, MOEMERGENCY MANAGERS REPORT QUARTER SIZED HAIL IN PURDY.
00:50 UTCHAIL 11 Se PurdyBarry, MO
00:55 UTCHAIL 0.885 W HalltownLawrence, MO
00:55 UTCHAIL 0.886 Nnw ChesapeakeLawrence, MO
00:56 UTCTORNADO3 Nw SeligmanBarry, MOA NWS STORM SURVEY FOUND THAT AN EF-1 TORNADO BRIEFLY TOUCHED DOWN ABOUT 2 MILES SOUTH OF WASHBURN IN RURAL BARRY COUNTY NEAR FARM ROAD 1055 AND FARM ROAD 2265. A CHICKEN FARM WAS DESTROYED AND NUMEROUS TREES WERE SNAPPE
01:00 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Ssw WashburnBarry, MOCHICKEN BARNS AND A HOUSE DAMAGED AND POWER LINES DOWN NEAR ROUTES 2265 AND 1055. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR.
01:05 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 S AuroraLawrence, MOAURORA HARDEES SIGN CAME OFF THE BUILDING AND FELL ON A GAS METER.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2017 tornado in MissouriEvery tornado in Missouri since 1950Warnings in force in Missouri nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of April 4, 2017

2 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 47:56 PM CDTEF1Barry, MO1.5200$15,000
April 49:34 PM CDTEF1Boone, AR5.0200$80,000

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.